Monday, June 22, 2015

Longest day of the year and perfect paragliding weather for Pemberton. Light winds (and I mean really light!) and high cloudbase, plus oodles of sun-hours, meant pilots went everywhere! We had pilots up the Hurley FSR, Ryan River valley, Rutherford valley, to Whistler and back, and over Currie. Lots of pilots opted to go really deep, km's from any usuable LZ's or roads, and it was all because the winds were so light it didn't really matter!

Sungod and Seven O'Clock Mountains

It wasn't the smoothest air, but there was so much lift that even the "rough" stuff was plenty to get up in to keep going. NE when we were above 3000m, SE below that, and down in the valley it was pretty much zero wind. I had a fantastic time getting up on Currie. Initially I was wondering if I was making a big mistake by flying to Currie way too early (it was only 2pm or so, we usually try Currie after 5 or 6) and also approaching it from the leeside. But it worked and I managed to make it up over Currie, at which point I was flying the backside and seeing all sorts of views that we usually can't see from lower down. I could see into the Caribou to the NE and it looked to be overdeveloping in the BC Interior as I could see lots of anvils 200 km away.

XC Find tracks for Sunday in Pemberton

I didn't have the largest flight but I did enjoy myself. Alex finally did his triangle that he's been wanting to do for years, and several pilots flew to Whistler and back (which may be a first for PG pilots). Also Guy and Stefan and Simon flew deep into the Ryan river valley and popped back out close to the Ipsoot Glacier, one of the few times (if ever) that that's been done.

It was an epic day, appropriate for Solstice, and we had lots of happy smiles in the LZ!

Sunday, June 14, 2015

My new glider showed up this weekend so it was time to take her out to Bridal to get acquainted!

Heading for Cheam peak from the Butterfly. Mt. Baker in the background.

Got high both days (more so than normal for the FV this time of year), yesterday enough to overfly Cheam peak, and today we were in orbit at 3100 m. Lots of wind both days: yesterday strong SW down low and light NE up high, and today it was strong outflow all over.

Getting high over Cheam. Cloudbase varied between 3100 and 3300 m.

Outflow days are the days we get highest in the Fraser Valley; unfortunately on the really high days (like today), it's difficult to actually go XC anywhere since it's usually very windy and sinky once you leave the lift. So today was a Butterfly->Gloria day for me, with a lot of stopping over Cheam to take photos of the spectacular view to the south. There was quite the hiking crowd on the peak and it was fun to thermal up beside them before continuing on.

Lady, Baby Munday, Welch, and Foley peaks. Chilliwack Lake in the right background.

There were a few valley crossings today...Kevin flew Woodside->Bridal and Peter did the reverse. Apparently over on the Woodside side it was difficult to stay below the airspace limit of 1981 m; over at Bridal we're allowed to 3810 m so it was less of an issue!

Harrison Lake wasn't that windy despite the outflow winds. It seemed to be more ESE vs. the usual NE.